BotTalk Reviews

eBook by George Mann Cover by Alex Horley (aka Alessandro Orlandelli) Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  We start with some poetry by Yrkonis. King Kull of Valusia is in his court, sitting on the Topaz Throne, next to his brother from another mother, Brule the Spear-Slayer. Jolanta of Elegaria manhandles the guards of Kull, she wants the King to help her find her missing sister (Nola) who is under the spell of a cult dedicated to a god of the sea (the cult of Piri'nach (an elder god of annihilation), the cult's emblem is an eye inside a flame). Jolanta saw a priest with a white skull visage... the sorcerer Thulsa Doom take her sister away. Kull, Brule and Jolanta go to the cult's temple (recently magically teleported from beneath the ocean back to land) in the port city of Alimantos, they kill the sentinels and enter the slimy structure. Wearing cyclopean breathing masks, three cultists drug the air of the te...

eBook by Adam Rose Cover by Alex Horley (aka Alessandro Orlandelli) Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  In Althunia, young Kull of Atlantis is a slave of Eldor (clearly NOT the heroic guardian of the book of living spells) the Game Warden. The Althunian Skull Forest. A hunting party of FOUR men goes missing, sheep are being mutilated. Kull must find and terminate the culprit: the Beast of Skull Mountain, if he is successful in his mission, he'll be released from slavery. An elk points Kull to a hidden trail, Althunian runes on a tree indicate that the Skull Beast's den is above the clouds, so up the mountain Kull goes. Crows attack from above, Kull finds three decapitated wolves, Kull knows one of them: Tiber the Grey, Kull buries the three canines. Kull meets Orgon the Bounty Hunter who is also looking for the Skull Beast. FOUR decaying disciples/slaves of the immortal Beast: Gar (a diminutive of Garou?) and his...

Scourge of the Serpent part 4 (of 4): Unity or DEATH. The epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics is over. Kirowan, Kull and Conan are now in Set's dimension. The mysterious Set siren appears before our heroes. The siren is disappointingly just Set (the Great Serpent) in human form. Our heroes morph into their future selves: John Kirowan loses his right eye (Battle of the Black Stone #4), King Kull loses his flesh (Conan the Barbarian (2023) #10) and Conan the Barbarian loses his freedom and youth (Conan the Barbarian (2023) #25). Set introduces our heroes to a Woeful dark god who has awaken from his slumber... The Woeful Eye/Shuma-Gorath is coming to earth (as revealed in Conan: Spawn of the Serpent God). Set remarks that the "END WAR" is upon us. We see an extremely unlikely future... Kirowan, Kull and Conan accompanied by their serpent-descendants are fighting the Black Stone Beasts of the Woeful Eye (last seen in Battle of the Black Stone #4). To...

Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane, the dour English Puritan Swashbuckler, gets a revised complete collection of his classic Marvel suggested for mature readers sword and sorcery adventures.  The omnibus is available in two versions: with a Mike Mignola dust jacket (available everywhere) or with a direct market Howard Chaykin dust jacket (only available from comic book stores). Inside this magnificent hardcover you will find the following: Stories in full color: Kane versus looter Le Loup (Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin) Kane versus looter Le Loup (Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard, Ralph Macchio, Steve Carr and Bret Blevins) Kane versus a werewolf (And Faith, Undying... by Ralph Macchio and Bret Blevins) Kane versus kidnaper Sir George Banway (Blades of the Brotherhood by Robert E. Howard, Ralph Macchio, Bret Blevins and Al Williamson) Kane versus Prince Ali-Ben Ar (The Prophet by Ralph Macchio, Mike Mignola and Al Williamson) Kane versus vampires/zombie...

eBook by Francesco Dimitri Cover by Alex Horley (aka Alessandro Orlandelli) Illustrations by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books, Heroic Signatures &  Conan Properties International LLC Spoilers! Spoilers!  The hills of Zalgara, cloud river, a small riparian village appears out of thin air. King Kull the Conqueror and Brule the Spear-Slayer meet with village chief Elspeth Thrace. They spend the night exploring the novel village.  The stars in the firmament start swirling. Kull and Brule spot a future, possible version/reflection of Kull as an elderly man with a woman. The old couple explodes into water, showering Kull. Kull and Brule see an older Kull stuffing his face... obese, angry, sad and alone. The vision turns into mist. Kull and Brule witness an alternate rendition of Kull's past, they see a young Kull and his girlfriend Elpis, dead, murdered by five thieves.  Kull vividly recalls that, as a youth, he had killed all five of the robbers and that Elpis h...

Scourge of the Serpent part 3 (of 4): Behind the Mask. The epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics is almost over. The Thurian Age of Kull of Atlantis (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom). Gonar the Seeker (from Kings of the Night) reminds the reader once again that the impossible to comprehend verity is that time and space do not exist, that EVERYTHING is transpiring NOW. The Hall of Society, King Kull sits upon his throne and gazes upon the courtiers, the ladies, the lords and the statesmen. The King of Valusia wonders... are they all shape-changers plotting his demise? Chief councilor Tu alerts his King that the hour of the council is at hand. Kull and his Pict ally, Brule follow the councilors to the council room.   The door of the council chamber is now closed, all seventeen councilors place themselves in the order of their rank before Kull's dais. Brule remains by Kull's side. The councilors begin moving toward Kull. Brule utters the words...

Scourge of the Serpent part 2 (of 4): Words of Power. The epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics continues. The Thurian Age of Kull of Atlantis (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom). Gonar the Seeker (from Kings of the Night) proclaims that time and space do not exist, that EVERYTHING is happening NOW. Brule the Spear-Slayer reminds Kull (the king of Valusia) that Serpent-Men, similar to an actor donning a mask, can resemble anyone they decide to impersonate. Uncounted centuries ago, we see the race of men who battled with the grisly beings of the ELDER UNIVERSE. Men in combat with hideous monsters, vanquishing a planet of frightful terrors: the bird-women, the harpies, the bat-men, the flying fiends, the wolf-people, the demons, the goblins, the wolf-men and the serpent-men. To conceal it from view, Brule picks up the carcass of the doppelgänger of chief councillor Tu and vanishes with it through another secret door. Kull wonders... Are the people of V...

Scourge of the Serpent part 1 (of 4): Stealing Faces & Finery. The epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics continues. The Thurian Age of Kull (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom). Pictish warrior, Brule the Spear-Slayer is chilling with Gonar the Seeker (from Kings of the Night). Brule wants to know if Kull the Conqueror is a camouflaged Serpent-Man. Gonar reassures Brule that if he utters the unfamiliar words: "Ka nama kaa lajerama!", it will melt away Kull's human disguise, exposing him as a Serpent-Man.  Gonar glimpses three heroes from the Howardverse: Kull of Atlantis, Conan the Barbarian and Professor John Kirowan in separate time periods... all are prepared to take on Set's servants. Brule the Spear-Slayer is wearing the gleaming, mystic armlet of the dragon; he scales the walls of the royal palace, reaches Kull's window and verifies the King's humanity. Brule shows King Kull of Valusia that his palace is jam-packed ...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again showcasing another remarkable new issue of SSOC!  64 pulsating pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint! Inside this wonderful magazine you will find the following sparkling gems: Incredible art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Valerio Giangiordano Kull of Atlantis by Geof Isherwood CONAN THE BARBARIAN & VALERIA OF THE RED BROTHERHOOD: THE SUNLESS ISLE part 1 by Patch/Patrick Zircher A direct follow-up to Robert E. Howard's Red Nails. Tascela, the princess of Tecuhltli lies impaled (by Valeria) on the floor. Old Tolkemec has been slain by Conan. The Xotalancas and the Tecuhltli have exterminated each other. Conan does NOT want to steal any of their possibly haunted jewels. Conan catches Valeria in his arms and they kiss. Conan thinks that they'll be on a ship before the Stygians open their ports for the trading season. The road to the coast is much too long. Conan of Cimmeria &...

SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 4 (of 4): Hell on Earth Solomon Kane refuses to be a tasty snack for a clan of spotted Hyenas. The Valley of the Serpent. Rolando Zarza, Nico Cassini, Mbondu, Hoto and Diamanta Bensaid have reach a guachimontón pyramid. Zarza, the disgraced Knight of Malta, makes it clear that he's the one who will possess the Ring since he's the dude who financed the expedition to the Kingdom of Ndongo. Inside the pyramid, Abramo Bensaid is the prisoner of the High Priestess of the Goddess Set, Sha-Kabet. Sha-Kabet scolds Abramo for desiring the Serpent Ring aka the Eye of Set. Sha-Kabet mentions that she's actually quite ancient and that Set placed a curse on the Serpent Ring to ensure her successor's worth. Sha-Kabet shows Abramo the past: We see Kull the Conqueror and Pictish warrior, Brule the Spear-Slayer fighting Serpent Men from "By This Axe I Rule!".  Thoth-Amon finding the ring in a nighted tomb a league beneath the earth, forgotte...

SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 3: Till death do us part The false Jesuit minister Father Goncallo and his novice, Mbondu are guiding Zarza, Nico Cassini, Abramo Bensaid, Diamanta Bensaid and Solomon Kane deeper into the Kingdom of Ndongo. The Aragonese, Rolando Zarza (thorny shrub in Spanish), a disgraced Knight of Malta, is still in charge of the expedition. Solomon Kane is still protecting Abramo and his daughter, Diamanta. Mbondu mentions that Abramo's brother-in-law, Paolo Laurenti brought evil on the Ndongo and that Kane and Co are here to take this evil away. The Ndongo attack, stuffing the sky with arrows, shouting "Father Goncallo must die!". Saurez and a helper get killed.   Nico gets an arrow in the shoulder. Zarza shoots Mbondu's chieftain (the one who was directing the attack). The Ndongo retreat. São Manços mission, Jesuit ministry up the Kwanza River, Kingdom of Ndongo, Africa.  Diamanta takes care of Nico's wound. Nico suggest that they should ...